This teed me off

[rosiep]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070625/ap_on_re_us/yearbook_gay_kiss_1


The idea that they told him it was the nature of the photo...suggesting "kissing" was inappropriate..when they knew damn well it was because it was two young men kissing. How homophobia sickens me......

 

[ConcKahuna]

I don't think there would have been any pictures in my senior yearbook if they cut out the kissing couples. None of them were gay though of course

 

[smartestnumber5]

I saw that article in the NYTimes a few days ago. That was before the school apologized and decided to reissue the yearbook.

In the earlier article the superintendent said:

I thought that the photo was suggestive,” Ms. Bolden said.

She said she made her decision without seeing the entire yearbook, and looked at only the one page....

She said she felt that the photo was provocative for a high school yearbook, regardless of whether it showed heterosexual or homosexual kissing. But she said it was a decision that was made too quickly and without taking into consideration other couples’ pictures. She said she was told on Thursday that neither of the men were students, adding that she would have been more hesitant to black out a picture of a student.

“It looked like two men kissing,” she said. “To me, it looked fairly illicit. It was pointed out as problematic, so maybe I read more into it.”

This is a great example of the gay double standard. When straight people do something it goes unnoticed. When gay people do the same thing, it gets pointed out and everyone acts as if the problem is not that it's gay people doing it, but that it's too "explicit." At least this time there was rock solid evidence that, yes, straight people act explicitly too, but nobody perceives it as explicit.

Of course, the school is playing it off like "oh it was just a mistake." Yeah, a mistake spelled H-O-M-O-P-H-O-B-I-A.

 

[OrlandoMike]

When did High School yearbooks start charging $150.00 for a quarter page ad?

Geesh, in my day it was just a plain old yearbook, you didn't get to take out an ad for a pic of you and your boyfriend. And where is this money going?

AWWWWWKKKKK I'm getting old!

I also noticed a priest at the interview, I'm assuming it was a Catholic school.

 

[rosiep]

I saw that article in the NYTimes a few days ago. That was before the school apologized and decided to reissue the yearbook.

In the earlier article the superintendent said:



This is a great example of the gay double standard. When straight people do something it goes unnoticed. When gay people do the same thing, it gets pointed out and everyone acts as if the problem is not that it's gay people doing it, but that it's too "explicit." At least this time there was rock solid evidence that, yes, straight people act explicitly too, but nobody perceives it as explicit.

Of course, the school is playing it off like "oh it was just a mistake." Yeah, a mistake spelled H-O-M-O-P-H-O-B-I-A.

I think the superintendent is a liar....She only looked at one page? Really? Bull!
She would have at least leafed through to see if there was anything else "offensive"....she just looked at the fact that it was two young men...So here we are trying to teach our children about acceptance and it's the adults who won't cooperate.

 

[tiggr33]

This school is located very close to me geographically, and I know the area. So I can shed some light on some comments here.

I also noticed a priest at the interview, I'm assuming it was a Catholic school.

Nope. It is an inner city comprehensive school. The preist was probably the families clergy, or one of the large contigent that supported the student.

I think the superintendent is a liar....She only looked at one page? Really? Bull!
She would have at least leafed through to see if there was anything else "offensive"....she just looked at the fact that it was two young men...So here we are trying to teach our children about acceptance and it's the adults who won't cooperate.

Liar is a very strong word. I believe she reacted poorly to a claim. She had a decision to make based upon a complaint. Right wrong or indifferent, she made a decision to alter the photo. She apologized for her decison and has made the steps to correct it. I felt her apology and explanation were sincere.

To play the role of devils advocate, she very well may have only looked at the one page. At this time of year and with graduation tonight for East Side, I am sure she had a few other things on her schedule then to look through the entire yearbook. She is the super. for the entire newark public school system, the largest school system in the state of NJ, and the lowest performing systems in the state. There is something like 13 highschools alone in Newark, all graduating this week.

I do not know superintendant, but I saw the press conference and I believe she was sincere. As a "local" to the area this happend, here is where I place the fault. The 50 teachers and staff members who actually took the markers to the pages. Did not one of them speak up??? Did not one of them refuse? Not one of them has made a public comment (that I am aware of). Did not one, question her judgement? I don't know about anyone else here, but if a boss had given me a project like that, I think I would have told them what to do with said project. Ms. Bolden made a bad judgement, but even worse the 50 "robots" that carried it out.

I am not defending homophobia, but in this one case I think the media blew it. I try not to knee jerk react with media reports. I think it much more beneficial to learn all the facts and picking a side of the fence to stand on, over making an assumption. Without seeing the entire yearbook, I have no way to know if the right decision was made. I do feel the picture was suggestive and definitely posed. Based on my yearbook (88') and others I have seen over the years, most kissing pictures were snapshots or pecks.

Tonight, the student is being presented a new copy of the yearbook, as it was printed. The company overnight shipped one for him. Per local news, the entire graduating class is getting re-printed copies in a few weeks, but tonight they will get re-printed pages.

 

[rosiep]

This school is located very close to me geographically, and I know the area. So I can shed some light on some comments here.


Nope. It is an inner city comprehensive school. The preist was probably the families clergy, or one of the large contigent that supported the student.



Liar is a very strong word. I believe she reacted poorly to a claim. She had a decision to make based upon a complaint. Right wrong or indifferent, she made a decision to alter the photo. She apologized for her decison and has made the steps to correct it. I felt her apology and explanation were sincere.

To play the role of devils advocate, she very well may have only looked at the one page. At this time of year and with graduation tonight for East Side, I am sure she had a few other things on her schedule then to look through the entire yearbook. She is the super. for the entire newark public school system, the largest school system in the state of NJ, and the lowest performing systems in the state. There is something like 13 highschools alone in Newark, all graduating this week.

I do not know superintendant, but I saw the press conference and I believe she was sincere. As a "local" to the area this happend, here is where I place the fault. The 50 teachers and staff members who actually took the markers to the pages. Did not one of them speak up??? Did not one of them refuse? Not one of them has made a public comment (that I am aware of). Did not one, question her judgement? I don't know about anyone else here, but if a boss had given me a project like that, I think I would have told them what to do with said project. Ms. Bolden made a bad judgement, but even worse the 50 "robots" that carried it out.

I am not defending homophobia, but in this one case I think the media blew it. I try not to knee jerk react with media reports. I think it much more beneficial to learn all the facts and picking a side of the fence to stand on, over making an assumption. Without seeing the entire yearbook, I have no way to know if the right decision was made. I do feel the picture was suggestive and definitely posed. Based on my yearbook (88') and others I have seen over the years, most kissing pictures were snapshots or pecks.

Tonight, the student is being presented a new copy of the yearbook, as it was printed. The company overnight shipped one for him. Per local news, the entire graduating class is getting re-printed copies in a few weeks, but tonight they will get re-printed pages.

Stacy:
You're right, liar is a strong word..and I realize that she has a very difficult job to do, however it still distresses me a great deal that she didn't take the time to see if her decision was equitable.
Here in Portland, two young girls were kicked off a bus because they were kissing...now I prefer not to watch anyone makeout in public, but the fact is a young man and woman would NEVER have been kicked off for kissing...asked to stop maybe..but not kicked off.
I am sick and tired of the outrage gay people face for doing something everyone else is given free reign to do. And as the head of a school district Ms. Bolden had an example to set and she did not. As for the media's knee jerk reaction..would the situation been rectified if the media hadn't gotten involved?
Still, I appreciate your taking the time to remind us there are always two sides to every story.
Rosie

 

[Jigsaw]